Bouncer Sold Coke

Christian A. Maldonado, 23, of Montauk was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with selling cocaine last September. East Hampton Town police, acting in conjunction with Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota’s East End Drug Task Force, made the arrest, their second this year on selling cocaine-related charges.

There were eight or nine family members and friends in the courtroom Saturday morning when Mr. Maldonado was arraigned. His attorney, Neil Rogers, entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Mr. Maldonado, who is accused of having made late-night drug sales on South Emerson Street in Montauk on two consecutive September weekends, told Justice Steven Tekulsky that he was employed as a bouncer by Sloppy Tuna, a bar and nightclub on that street.

Justice Tekulsky said that Mr. Maldonado had been arrested several times but never convicted. In light of the lack of convictions and the defendant’s lifetime roots in Montauk, he set bail at $2,500, which Mr. Maldonado’s family posted at police headquarters.

The defendant was given a nominal return date to East Hampton Justice Court of April 24. However, should he be indicted on felony charges by a grand jury, his next court appearance would be in criminal court in Riverside.

Selling cocaine is a class B felony, with mandatory prison time upon conviction.

Sag Harbor police have arrested a third teenager in connection with the spree of burglaries that hit the village last summer. Joshua P. Lamson, 16, of Bridgehampton was taken into custody by Detective Jeffrey Proctor on Monday evening, charged with four counts of burglary and one of grand larceny. The spree began with breaking into homes and stealing bottles of liquor, the detective said in February, then mushroomed into more serious thefts.

Devin K. Brevard, 17, of Sag Harbor, said to be the instigator, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, in the court of acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in Central Islip, to participating in eight burglaries. He was placed on conditional probation for one year, with an additional five years’ probation afterward. According to his attorney, Susan Menu, Justice Camacho took her client’s age into account when agreeing not to sentence him to jail time.

Mr. Lamson was released with an appearance ticket for April 29, when he will be arraigned in Sag Harbor Village court.

There will be a new Legal Aid Society representative in the East Hampton and Sag Harbor courts for the next few months. Sheila Mullahy is on maternity leave after giving birth on March 21 to a boy, Sebastian Giuffrida.

“The mother is in good health, and the son is in good health,” said Sabato Caponi, a Legal Aid supervisor who was standing in for Ms. Mullahy in Sag Harbor last week. Her replacement, Cynthia Darrell, has already begun work here.

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009, before coming on staff, full time, at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2017 by HarperCollins children’s division.